- Exile in Texas failed to keep Billy Mitchell quiet.
- He published several articles in popular magazines and in August 1925 he released a book Winged Defense.
- On August 31, 1925 three flying navy boats attempted to fly non-stop from San Francisco to Hawaii, a feat that had yet to be accomplished. Mechanical problems downed two aircraft early in the flight; naval ships rescued the crews. Close to hawaii, the third disappeared completely. Several days later it was found drifting and the crew was rescued On september 3
- Billy Mitchell called six local reporters into his office and issued a statement that read in part:
- These accidents are result of the incompetency, the criminal negligence and almost treasonable administration of the national defense by the Navy and War Departments. In their attempts to keep down the development of aviation into an independent department, separate from the army and navy and handled by aeronautical experts, and to maintain the existing systems, they have gone the utmost lengths to carry their point. All aviation policies, schemes and systems are dictated by the non-flying officers of the army or navy, who know practically nothing about it. The lives of the airmen are being used merely as pawns in their hands.
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